It is called “invented spelling” or “inventive spelling,” and many teachers encourage it in the early grades. It’s not because they’ve given up teaching children to spell, but because of a general shift in understanding about how children learn.

When children create their own spellings for words they do not know how to spell correctly they’re using invented spelling. They use what they know about letters, sounds and spelling patterns to spell the word as well as they can.

Written in standard spelling, the above excerpt from a first-grader’s story would say: “There once was two flowers. One was pink and the other was purple. They did not like each other because they were different colors. One day they had a fight.”

Of course, I now realize that I was also a master of inventive math, and I’ve read that it is still practiced in our schools. Sister James Edward was the dedicated Dominican nun whose misfortune it was to have me in her Algebra II class in 1960, and again in 1961. Today, she would no doubt smile and tweak my cheek playfully, congratulating me for my inventiveness. But in 1960, and again in 1961 the operative word was accuracy.
Things are so much better now. Enlightened educators have come to understand their students’ basic need for affirmation and acceptance at every turn. And in this millennium it has become painfully obvious that attempts to confine inventive techniques to spelling and math have gone by the wayside.

The DEA has become alarmed by the tremendous increase in the prescribing of these drugs in recent years. Since 1990, prescriptions for methylphenidate have increased by 500 percent, while prescriptions for amphetamine for the same purpose have increased 400 percent.

Ron Paul’s 2005 take on the efforts of Congress for mental health screenings in public education.

Every parent in America should be made aware of a presidential initiative called the “New Freedom Commission on Mental Health.” This commission issued a report last year calling for the mandatory mental health screening of American schoolchildren, meaning millions of kids will be forced to undergo psychiatric screening whether their parents consent or not. At issue is the fundamental right of parents to decide what medical treatment is appropriate for their children.

Forced mental health screening simply has no place in a free or decent society. The government does not own you or your kids, and it has no legitimate authority to interfere in your family’s intimate health matters. Psychiatric diagnoses are inherently subjective, and the drugs regularly prescribed produce serious side effects, especially in children’s developing brains. The bottom line is that mental health issues are a matter for parents, children, and their doctors, not government.

Unfortunately, however, the mental health screening initiative received funding from House and Senate appropriators in the 2005 federal budget. This funding allows states to create or expand mental health screening programs with your tax dollars. More importantly, the commission recommends a broader federal program in the near future.

”When parents cede their rights in order to place their children in foster care or in a program for delinquent youth, they may also be inadvertently placing their children at risk for abuse or neglect,” the commission said.

The commission said that 5 percent to 9 percent of all children in the United States — at least four million — had serious emotional disturbances. A survey by the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, an advocacy group, found that parents give up custody to get care for about one-fifth of such children.

Searching for some non-government study numbers I discovered a pretty comprehensive site for National and Local issues in the Public Education System is EdWatch.org whose mission as stated is the following:

EdWatch supports knowledge-based education that promotes the American Creed, free enterprise, limited government,
and the primacy of parental rights.

Of particular interest is this 2006 pdf titled “Concerns with Indiana’s State Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Health Plan” in which the opening paragraphs state:

INTRODUCTION: Indiana’s (IN) state children’s mental health plan legislation passed in the Spring of
2005 corresponds closely, and in many cases exactly with the legislation passed in 2004 and state mental
health plan being implemented in Illinois (IL), the Florida Strategic plan for infant mental health, as well as
legislation proposed, but blocked in Texas (TX) in 2005. This state legislation was in turn based on the New
Freedom Commission Report on Mental Health (NFC), the preliminary version being published in 2003. The
Federal Mental Health Action Agenda (FMHAA), although published in August of 2005 was in process well
before then and also contains many of the same elements.
This plan is full of statements and assumptions that are not supported by science by agencies and groups that
have a direct financial and policy self-interest in see that these types of programs expand. They are uncritical
supporters of screening and treatment without looking at any of the problems with these programs and
treatments. The assumptions and ideas in this report are helping to spread universal mental health screening
starting in infancy; invasive, non-academic early childhood programs that interfere with parental autonomy;
and the use of dangerous, ineffective psychiatric medication.
DANGEROUS ASSUMPTIONS:
It is government’s job via the schools and other agencies to monitor, screen, set norms
regarding, and intervene in the social emotional and behavioral health for all of Indiana’s
children, beginning at birth, as long as active parental consent is obtained – The plan says on p.
30, “Assure earlier identification and intervention of mental health disorders in infants and toddlers
and young children by providing practitioners with mental health consultation and training to increase
their capacity to identify and assist families with infants and young children whose behavior has begun
to deviate from the normal range of development.”

Six pages of highly detailed scientific facts follow on why Mental Health Screening (MHS) has become a “solution seeking a problem”.

It appears that the general understanding that MHSing is perpetuated by those who would benefit economically or in some way socially through the “Dumbing Down” of publicly educated children (some of those may be educators who grew up in the system therefore continuing the circle of damage) is already well-known.

After viewing the above youtube, I encourage all parents to investigate exactly what the Screening process affecting their children might be and also be aware that one has options concerning programs such as “TeenScreen” (ages 12 – 18) which is being used in 46 states at this point.

TeenScreen utilizes “passive consent” – knowing that this program even exists can be challenging when most teens returning home from school will tell you they “done nothing” all day. I’m a parent, I’ve seen it!

Attempting to skate past the radar with “passive consent”In some areas, TeenScreen currently uses what they call “passive consent” or “opt-out consent”, which requires no written parental approval to screen their child. Instead, a passive consent form is sent home to parents with the child and if they don’t return it, signed by their parents, TeenScreen considers that the parents approve. But what if a parent never sees the form? What if the child never delivers it? Leslie McGuire, TeenScreen’s Co-Director, says: “Unless we hear from you that we can’t screen your child we assume we have your permission and we’re gonna’ screen them.” TeenScreen officials discovered that using (illegal) passive consent boosted the number of teens to be tested from 50% to over 95%.

In the end, only a parent can make the decision if this is an issue in their family. The dramatic music and sometimes unsupported “facts” make one cringe, however the overall message is one we see in American Society today. Children are receiving a poorer education, increasing on the rolls of “mentally ill”, and suffering. Maya may be a fictional character designed to tug at ones heartstrings, but your child is real. Take the time to investigate.

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As a professional involved in education at all levels for 40 years as a counselor, teacher, professor and social worker I can only say that this is just BS-Counselor do not recommend medication, if they do they are outside the scope of their practice. This doesn’t deserve anymore comment because its not about educating, its about propagandizing.

Every day & every new edition of the DSM gives psych professionals a wider spectrum of options for declaring you or your child unfit for freedom. I heard some rube on the radio parroting statistics according to which 40 odd percent of us are now “mentally ill.” They might as well declare us all mentally ill so they can go ahead and dope & dupe us any way they please. It goes without saying that the government should have complete power over anyone who’s slightly neurotic — after al the government is run by corrupt psychopaths who know mental illness when they see it. At least the Soviet Union waited for people to become politically active before declaring them insane and stripping them of their rights. But the Soviets didn’t have Big Pharma. Welcome to Capitocialism: the Worst of Both Worlds? The Worst of All Possible Worlds? I’m going crazy. The way to resist this is by means of the most general and total refusal — bio-power must be reined in before they put Haldol in my waffles!

I totally agree with you; education starts in the home and unfortunately parents of kids in elementary school were the first ones to be dumbed down and as a parent who does not even have cable, boy can you tell. I am very much aware of what is going on in this country and it is why the system needs to be collapsed. After all, how can one even offer solutions in a broken system? This is precisely why Jefferson said revolutions should happen every 20 years. Not necessarily bloody ones; just ones that make us question what is going on and that’s the problem, no one wants to question it. It’s sad. What are we going to do? Just HOPE that the economy and system collapses or….? Thank you for your comment!

Considering that in many states it is difficult, if not impossible, to have an alternative to Public Education – Parents do not have a choice once their children are “entrusted” on a daily basis to the System.

I agree that Parents should wake up. In many cases todays parents may be the product of the very system that now encompasses this new generation.

Whoa, whoa, whoa….if the mother at multiple times throughout her own childs education was concerned yet “did nothing because after all, the teacher is the ‘expert'” than more fault lies with the parent than the teachers. We are experiencing this on a much larger level as it pertains to the government as a whole. We are in this situation in Amerika because everyone fell asleep years ago and no one has challenged anything since. And is this really happening in our schools because it is not in my childrens school? And if so, WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU PARENTS?!?!? Wake the “F” up and grow a pair and raise some cane people!! Damn sheeple…You better exercise your right to stand up and fight before you lose the right to even stand up.